PROVIDENCE — A Tiverton man was sentenced Wednesday to serve five years in federal prison for trafficking cocaine and possessing a firearm to further his illegal drug operation.

Ian D. Andrade, 37, will also be placed on three years of supervised release after his prison sentence. He pleaded guilty on May 21 to one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On Nov. 18, 2013, Newport police officers arrested Andrade after an investigation by members of the Newport Police Department’s Vice Unit led to the seizure of 366 grams of cocaine and a loaded handgun from a hidden compartment inside Andrade’s vehicle.

In the fall of 2013, Newport Police Department's Vice Unit said it learned information about Andrade’s drug trafficking activities. According to court documents, detectives found that Andrade was using a vehicle with a hidden compartment inside to help him traffic cocaine.

In November 2013, Newport police officers saw Andrade and a female juvenile enter a vehicle outside a Newport residence and drive away. A short distance later, the officer stopped the vehicle, which was towed to the Newport Police Department and searched. Inside the vehicle’s hidden compartment, located behind the front passenger's seat, detectives seized a loaded .22-caliber handgun and 366 grams of cocaine in 39 packages, which were arranged in quantities consistent with street-level drug sales, according to court documents.

Andrade also turned over $4,435 in cash that he later admitted were proceeds from his drug trafficking activities. Authorities said Andrade admitted to possessing the cocaine and the firearm, which he used to protect his drugs.